Oil bottle spout



cs. K. SCRIBNER 1,983,101

1 j OIL BOTTLE SPOUT Filed April 17, 1933 INVENTOR George K. ScribnerATTORN EYS Patented Dec. 4, 1934 PATENT OFFICE 1.923.101 omnorm srou'rGeorge K. Scribner, Boonton, N. J., assignor to 'Boonton MoldingCompany, Boonton, N. J., a

corporation of New Jersey Application April 17, 193:, Serial No. 666,416

Claims. (01.221-28) This invention relates to spouts for guiding aliquid froma container, and more particularly to oil bottle spouts ofthetype used at automobile fllling stations. v 5 The object of thepresent invention is to generally improve oil bottle spouts with a viewto. enhancing their appearance, increasing theirstrength, reducing thecost of production, and forming the same as an integral unit in a single10 operation by molding the finished spout out of moldable material,preferably synthetic resin, in addition, to other important but morespecific objects hereinafter detailed.

One primary object of the present invention l5 resides in the provisionof an improved form of air vent for the spout, characterized by beingdust-proof, invisible to the eye so as not to mar the appearance of thespout, circuitous in path so as to obstruct dirt particles which may besucked in as the oil is poured through the spout and further arranged toprevent the escape of oil through the vent.

Another object of the present invention is to make the oil bottle spoutwholly dust-proof, and

I includes the provision, in addition to the improved air ventheretofore mentioned, of a dust cap which is readily applied to orremoved from the open tip of the spout and yet which is held by snapengagement means to prevent accidental falling 011 or removal of thecap. Still another object of the present invention concerns the gasketsealing means between the oil bottle and the spout, and moreparticularly residesin the provision of a gasket retaining ledge orridge for holding the gasket in place in the spout despite frequentremoval and re-application of the spout to the bottle. Still anotherobject of the inventionis to provide the exterior of the base portion ofthe spout with generous knurling 40 or spaced ridges to facilitatescrewing of the spout on the bottle and to prevent slipping of the-spoutin the hand despite the slippery oily nature of the product beinghandled.

- -I'o the accomplishment'of the foregoing'and *siich-other objects aswill hereinafter appear, my

. invention consits in the oil bottle spout elements Hand their relationone to the other, as herein- 1 I after are more particularly describedin the: 1 r b speciflcation and sought to be defined in the .55 .thesame applied to a relatively small oil bottle;

Oil bottle spouts are commonly employed at automobile filling stations,the spouts being applied to bottles of oil, a row or series of which aredisplayed on racks or shelves, where they are immediately available forpouring into the crank case of an automobile engine. -The spouts 5 arecommonly made up out of a number of separate pieces of sheet metal,soldered or otherwise joined together. In accordance with my invention,a complete oil bottle spout is formed as a unit by direct molding, thespout preferably being molded out of a synthetic resinous material suchas the condensation products of phenol or urea. This material whenmolded sets or polymerizes from a potentially reactive fusible conditionto a hard and permanently set and infusible condition, resulting in anoil bottle spout which, is smoothly and attractively finished; which maybe given a novel appearance by reason of the freedom in design madepossible by the molding process; which is exceedingly strong anddurable; which is wholly resistant to attack by oil, gasoline,automobile fumes, storage battery acid, anti-freeze mixtures, and thelike; which may be attractively colored, so that the display of arackful of oil bottles will in itself be an effective advertisement,which idea may be furthered by the selection of a color typical of thetrade-mark of the company marketing the oil in question; which is notsubject to bending or deformation, as in the case of a sheet metalspout; which, even if subjected to severe handling such as might cause aslight chipping of a part of the spout, does not noticeably mar theappearance of the same because the color runs throughout the materialand is not merely a surface paint; and which, withal, may be produced ata low cost under production conditions, for the spout is practically a.finished article when removed from the mold.

Referring to the drawing, the oil bottle spout is generally in the formof an inverted funnel and comprises an upwardly tapering body portion 12formed integrally with an outwardly flared base portion 14. The baseportion 14 is internally threaded at 16 to receive the threaded neck 18of a jar or bottle 20. The exterior of the base portion 14 is knurled orprovided with a series of generously sized and spaced ridges 22 whichafford an excellent grip when the spout is screwed onto the oil bottle,despite the prob- 10 able presence of a slight film of oil on the spoutor on the hand of the filling station attendant. The tip of the spout ispreferably cut on a bias to form a pouring lip 24, thus facilitatingpouring and observation of the oil being emptied into the crank case.The conventionally open tip of the spout is preferably topped or closedby a dust cap 26, to guard against the settling of dust or dirt onto thesurface of the oil in the bottle while the filled bottle is on display.

The spout is further provided with an air vent formed in the baseportion 14 and best shown in Figs. 2 and 3 of the drawing. This air ventis formed by a groove or channel which extends horizontally outwardly at28 and then downwardly at 30 to the bottom edge of the spout. The groove30 is deeper than the thread 16, as will be evident from an inspectionof the drawing, and communication is thereby established between theinterior and the exterior of the bottle. It is important to note thatthis air vent is downwardly directed at its outlet, thus preventing thesettling of dust or dirt through the vent opening. The vent has thefurther advantage of being not only inconspicuous but practicallyinvisible, so that it does not mar the appearance of the spout. Afurther advantage of circuitousness will be described later.

It will be noted that the air vent is located on the side of the spoutopposite the pouring edge 24, that is, opposite the highest side of thebiased tip of the spout. To indicate the location of the air vent,without reliance upon observation of the tip of the spout, the baseportion 14 carries a marker, here shown as an extra-large ridge 32 onthe outer surface of the base, this ridge 32 being clearly discriminatedfrom the ordinary knurling 22 around the base of the spout. At the-sametime, the marker ridge 32 thickens and strengthens the spout around thevent channels 28 and 30.

In accordance with a further feature of the present invention, oilrunning back into the bottle from the spout is prevented from escapingthrough the air vent, and this is of importance after emptying the oilbottle because a film of oil on the interior of the spout invariablydrips back into the bottle. It is also of importance because at manyfilling stations the attendant prefers to fill the bottle through thetip of the spout instead of removing the spout from the bottle, in whichcase a large quantity of oil fiows downwardly past the air vent. Forthis purpose the present spout is provided with a drip lip 34, dependingfrom the inner surface of the tapered or body portion 12, and extendingto a point well below the inner terminal of the air vent. By this simpleconstruction, oil flowing down the spout toward the bottle is guidedsafely past the vent and is thereby prevented from escaping to theexterior of the oil bottle.

The interior of the base portion 14 is preferably provided with a flatabutment surface 36 located directly above the top edge of the neck 18of the bottle, this surface being adapted to take the closing pressurewhen the spout is screwed onto the bottle. In accordance with thepresent invention, the junction of the spout and oil bottle ispreferably sealed by a gasket 38 which is disposed directly between theannular surface 36 of the spout and the neck of the bottle. Inasmuch asthis gasket is apt to be dislodged and lost in the course of manyremovals of the spout from the oil bottle, I preerably provide the innersurface of the base portion of the spout with a gasket retaining ledgeor ridge 40 in addition to the regular threads 16. This gasket retainingledge may extend partially or wholly around the spout and may becontinuous or discontinuous, but in any case serves to retain the gasketin place when the spout is removed from the bottle. It will beunderstood that the outwardly directed channel 28 is cut into theabutment surface 36 of the spout, thereby providing a channel passingabove the gasket 38, as is clearly shown in Fig. 2. Furthermore, theouter surface 35 of the depending lip 34 is disposed inwardly somewhatof the inner edge of the gasket, so that the complete vent channel isrelatively circuitous and includes an upwardly directed portion betweenthe lip 34 and the gasket, in addition to the outwardly directed portion28 and the downwardly directed portion 38. This obstructs dust or dirtparticles sucked into the vent when the bottle is emptied.

It has already been mentioned that, to complete the dust-proof nature ofthe present spout, the open tip thereof is preferably provided with adust cap 26. This cap is generally thimbleshaped and may be andpreferably is molded out of the same material as the oil bottle spoutitself. To prevent accidental loss or falling off of the cap from thespout, and at the same time to permit the cap to be readily applied toor removed from the spout, the spout and cap are preferably providedwith snap engagement means permitting the cap to be sprung and held inposition on the spout. In the present case the spout is provided with anannular ridge or ledge 42 while the cap is provided with a pair ofcircumfcrentially directed ridges or beads 44 the diametrical spacingacross which is less than the diameter of the ridge 42. The differenceis made such that the cap is readily snapped or sprung over the ridge42, placing the parts 42 and 44 in the holding relation clearly shown inFig. 2 of the drawing. To 10- cate the cap on the spout, the cap ispreferably provided with an additional pair of circumferentiallydirected ledges 46 located higher than the ledges 44 with an axialspacing therebetween sufilcient to receive the bead 42. With thisarrangement the cap when sprung in position is held against downwardmovement by the ledges '46 and is held against upward movement by theledges 44. A slight pull on the cap, however, readily dislodges it fromthe tip of the spout and permits the oil to be poured into the crankcase.

Some of the advantages of the present construction, resulting from themolding of the spout, will already be apparent. Considerable latitude indesign is afforded, because the inner surface need not follow or conformto the outer surface, as is the case with a sheet metal spout. Thismakes readily possible the addition of the drip lip, the formation ofthe vent channel, the addition of the knurling, the provision of a flatabutment surface for the gasket within a conical outer wall, and theintegral formation of the threads. Latitude in design made possible bymolding also permits the spout to be given novel shapes, hereexemplified by the stepping of the tapered portion of the spout, asshown at 50. While the outer surface is ridged or stepped as desired,the inner surface may be left smooth to permit free fiow of oil throughthe spout. In the present case the inner surface has also been slightlystepped, but it is evident that this inner surface may be made perfectlysmooth and truly frustro-conical, if desired, and that even ner bystripping the spout directly from the interlocking' grooves in the moldwhile the spout is still hot and sufficiently elastic or yieldable toaccommodate the necessary temporary distortion. This preferred strippingprocess is set forth in greater detail, in my copending applicationSerial No. 449,852, filed May 5, 1930, entitled Molding of plasticarticles. When forming the gasket retaining ledge 40' by the strippingprocess, it is convenient to simultaneously form the threads 16, forthreads, like other interlocking parts, may also be stripped from amolding pin. With this purpose in view the threads are preferably bluntand rounded, as is clearly shown in Fig. 2, which is anyway desirablebecause such a thread mates well with the threads on a glass jar orbottle, which are themselves of a relatively blunt and roundedcharacter.

It is believed that the improved oil bottle spout of my invention, aswell as the method of constructing and using the same, and the manyadvantages thereof will be apparent from the foregoing detaileddescription. The spout is dust-proof, being provided with a dust cap anda' dust-proof vent, and thus preventing contamination of the oil whendisplayed in the open. The dust cap and spout are mated by convenientsnap engagement means, while the vent is not only indirect and invisiblebut is sufficiently circuitous to prevent the sucking of dirt into thebottle during the pouring operation. Escape of oil through the vent uponback flow is effectually prevented, thus avoiding messing of the outsideof the bottle with oil and permitting filling of the bottle through thespout. The spout is convenient to handle and apply to the oil bottlebecause of the large knurling, because of the gasket and means topermanently retain the same in place, and because of the marker showingthe best position for holding the oil bottle during the pouringoperation. The spout is strong, resistant to corrosion, attractive inshape, and may be colored to further enhance its appearance as well asto form an attractive display at the filling station.

It will be apparent that while I have shown and described my inventionin preferred form, many changes and modifications may be made in thestructure disclosed without departing from the spirit of the invention,defined in the following claims.

I claim:

1. A unitary spout generally in the form of an inverted funnel andcomprising an upwardly tapering body portion and an outwardly flaredbase portion, said base portion being internally threaded, and includingan outwardly and then downwardly extending channel or groove deeper thanthe threads, and acting as an air vent.

2. A unitary molded spout generally in the form of an inverted funneland comprising an upwardly tapering body portion formed integrally withan outwardly flared base portion, said base portion being internallythreaded to receive the threaded neck of a Jar or bottle,

and further including an outwardly and then downwardly extending channelor groove deeper than the threads and forming'an air vent, said spouthaving a lip depending from the interior of the body portion to a pointbelow the inner terminal. of the venting channel.

3. An oil bottle spout for use at automobile filling stations,vcomprising a unitary molded spout generally in the form of an invertedfunnel and comprising an upwardly tapering body portion formedintegrally with an outwardly flared base portion, said base portionbeing internally threaded to receive the threaded neck of a jar orbottle, and externally knurled to facilitate tightening the spout on thebottle, said base portion further including an outwardly and thendownwardly extending channel or groove deeper than the threads andforming an air vent communicating circuitously with the interior of thespout, said spout having a lip depending from the interior of the bodyportion to a point below the inner terminal of the venting channel.

4. A unitary molded spout generally in the form of an inverted funneland comprising an upwardly tapering body portion formed integrally withan outwardly flared base portion, said base portion being internallythreaded to receive the threaded neck of a jar or bottle, and furtherincluding a peripherally directed gasket retaining shoulder or ridgeextending at least partially around the base of the spout and serving tohold a gasket in place, said base portion further including an outwardlyand then downwardly extending channel or groove deeper than the threadsand forming an air vent communicating with the interior of the spout.

5. A unitary molded spout generally in the form of an inverted funneland comprising an upwardly tapering body portion formed integrally withan outwardly flared base portion, said base portion being internallythreaded to receive the threaded neck of a jar or bottle, and furtherincluding a peripherally directed gasket retaining shoulder or ridgeextending at least partially around the base of the spout and serving tohold a gasket in place, and an air vent passing above the gasket, saidspout having a lip depending from the interior of the body portion to apoint below the inner terminal of the air vent.

6. An oil bottle spout for use at automobile filling stations,comprising a unitary molded spout generally in the form of an invertedfunnel and comprising an upwardly tapering body portion formedintegrally with an outwardly flared base portion, said base portionbeing internally threaded to receive the threaded neck of a jar orbottle, and further including a peripherally directed gasket retainingshoulder or ridge extending at least partially around the base of thespout and serving to hold a gasket in place for sealing the engagementbetween the neck of the jar and the. base of the spout, said baseportion further including an outwardly and then downwardly extendingchannel or groove deeper than the threads and forming an air ventcommunicating circuitously with the interior of the spout, said spouthaving a lip depending from the interior of the body portion to a pointbelow the inner terminal of the venting channel.

7. A unitary molded spout generally in the form of an inverted funneland comprising an upwardly tapering body portion formed integrally withan outwardly flared base portion,

said base portion being internally threaded to receive the threaded neckof a jar or bottle, said base portion further including an outwardly andthen downwardly extending channel or groove deeper than the threads andforming an air vent communicating with the interior of the spout, and adust cap for closing the tip of said spout, the exterior of the bodyportion of the spout including a peripherally extending ridge orshoulder, and the interior oi the cap including a peripherally directedridge or shoulder mating with the ridge on the spout, whereby the capmay be sprung and held in position on the spout, making the sameentirely dust-proof.

8. An oil bottle spout for use at automobile filling stations,comprising a unitary molded spout generally in the form of an invertedtunnel and comprising an upwardly tapering body portion formedintegrally with an outwardly flared base portion, said base portionbeing internally threaded to receive the threaded neck of a jar orbottle and externally knurled to facilitate tightening the spout on thebottle, said base portion further including an outwardly and thendownwardly extending channel or groove deeper than the threads andforming an air vent communicating circuitously with the interior of thespout, said spout having a lip depending from the interior of the bodyportion to a point below the inner terminal of the venting channel, anda dust cap for closing the tip of said spout, the exterior of the bodyportion of the spout and the interior of the cap having mating snapengagement means, whereby the cap may be sprung and held in position onthe spout, making the same entirely dust-proof.

9. A unitary molded spout generally in the form of an inverted funneland comprising an upwardly tapering body portion formed integrally withan outwardly flared base portion, said base portion being internallythreaded to receive the threaded neck of a jar or bottle, and

further including a peripherally directed gasket retaining shoulder orridge extending at least partially around the base of the spout andserving to hold a gasket in place, said base portion further including achannel extending outwardly above the gasket and then downwardly with adepth greater than the threads and forming an air vent communicatingcircuitously with the interior of the spout, said spout having a lipdepending from the interior of the body portion to a point below theinner terminal of the venting channel, and a dust cap for closing thetip 0! said spout.

10. Arr oil bottle spout tor use at automobile filling stations,comprising a unitary molded spout generally in the form of an invertedfunnel and comprising an upwardly tapering body portion formedintegrally with an outwardly flared base portion, said base portionbeing internally threaded to receive the threaded neck of a jar orbottle, and further including a peripherally directed gasket retainingshoulder or ridge extending at least partially around the base of thespout and serving to hold a gasket in place for sealing the engagementbetween the neck of the jar and the base of the spout, said base portionfurther including an outwardly and then downwardly extending channel orgroove deeper than the threads and forming an air vent communicatingcircuitously with the interior of the spout, said spout having a lipdepending from the interior of the body portion to a point below theinner terminal of the venting channel, and a dust cap for closing thetip of said spout, the exterior of the body portion of the spoutincluding a peripherally extending ridge, and the interior of the capincluding a peripherally directed ridge mating with the ridge on thespout, whereby the cap may be sprung and held in position on the spout.

GEORGE K. SCRIBNER.

